After two years in the making, Pawâkan Macbeth will debut this week at the Westbury Theatre. Playwright Reneltta Arluk reimagined Shakespeare’s tragedy to play into Cree style, history and folklore.

“It’s a new play, a takeover,” Arluk described. “I took the play, stripped it down to its ribs, picked the themes and Shakespeare’s poetry, and replaced some of it with Cree language.”

The idea hatched in 2015 when teachers at Frog Lake School realized The Tempest, another Shakespeare play, did not have much in common with First Nations culture.

In Macbeth, however, Frog Lake students and staff saw motifs that criss-crossed with their own history.

Greed, for example, is an underlying trait thrgouhout Shakespeare’s 17th century masterpiece that is perfectly exemplified by the wihtiko, an evil and greedy Cree mythical creature.

“They wanted to adapt the darkest play with the darkest creature, and I said, I’ll help you!” Arluk laughed. “I had elders to come in and tell stories of the wihtiko, we had ribbon shirts for actors and a lot of people came out to watch. It was a positive experience and I said, I wonder if we can do this on a professional scale?”

Two years later, Pawâkan Macbeth will debut from Nov. 23 to 26 in Old Strathcona, and will also perform for schools this week.

The play is set in Alberta during the 1870s when First Nations reserves were in conflict with one another, all while the Canadian government was also arriving to establish territory and trade.

“I look at how the wihtiko can make man vulnerable. It is easy to slice him into Macbeth, who does not know he is the wihtiko until he becomes one.”

In Arluk’s version, Macikosisân (Macbeth), a great Okihcitâw (warrior), is overtaken by the harsh and wicked spirit of the wihtiko. Macikosisân follows a similar path as Shakespeare’s Macbeth, ultimately being influenced to make an evil and self-serving decision to kill King Duncan. Arluk said she also empowered the role of women in her version.

The play will run throughout the week and is eventually headed for Stratford, Ont., for the Shakespeare festival, where Arluk will run a workshop. She hopes it will eventually be picked up for a major run.

“Every time we have workshops and an audience, people get excited. We know Shakespeare is not ours, but this feels like ours,” she said. “This taps into actual Canadian history, and our voice is heard. “